


Where the heart is

by ChestnutBrumby



Series: Sweet Dreams - Scarlet Vision ficlets [15]
Category: Captain America (Movies), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Guest-starring CB's favourite X-Couple, Humor, Other, Romance, Wanda and Vision go for a walk in the park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 20:37:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7376536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChestnutBrumby/pseuds/ChestnutBrumby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Her heart isn't in it."<br/>"Her heart is in everything she does." </p>
<p>Wanda has never seen Central Park, Vision offers to take her, and they run into a dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the heart is

Wanda let Natasha land the final punch. Reeling back, she signaled she was finished. Natasha relaxed her attack position and sighed. "Wanda, you can do better." She reprimanded lightly. The younger woman didn't meet her eyes, just shrugged and headed out of the training room, head bowed.  
  
Steve watched the exchange with Vision, the two of them having finished a sparring match that Steve felt he'd just been able to hold his own against. He frowned and turned to the android. "Something's bothering her - I know you two have gotten close, any ideas?" He asked.  
  
Vision shook his head, one of the gestures he'd been reminding himself to do of late. "I believe she is still finding it difficult to come to terms with the death of her twin." He replied softly. Natasha came to join them, sighing. "It's not that I don't feel for her, but she's either ready to train or she isn't, and she needs to decide which. Right now, her heart's not in it."  
  
Vision watched Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers head towards a computer to plan the next training session. Troubled, he touched his fingers briefly to the mindstone. "Her heart is in everything she does."  
  
He ought to know.     
  
Vision found Wanda in one of the highest storerooms, curled up beside the window, arm resting on the sill, head resting on her arm. He floated to the ground and when she heard the sound of his feet on the floor she turned her head, smiling at him. "Hey Vis. What's happening?"  
  
He took a moment before replying as he studied her, trying to discern her emotions without needing to look inside her head for them. Increasing his awareness of body language and how it was used was one of his current goals. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, and her smile of greeting hadn't reached her eyes. "I was just wondering if you might be free for an hour or so?"  
  
She rose to her feet. "Definitely. What did you have in mind?"  
  
"Well, since it is currently pleasant weather outside, I wondered if you might like to go for a walk?"  
  
"For sure, I'm going nuts cooped up in this tower today." Wanda joined him. "Let me just swing by my room to grab my jacket and sunglasses. Can we go to Central Park? I keep meaning to go, but I haven't gotten around to it yet."  
  
Vision was agreeable to the plan, pleased that his efforts to cheer her up seemed to be working so far, and in short order the pair were headed on foot down the street. Wanda kept close enough to Vision that her elbow occasionally brushed his arm. He had been touched when he realized she'd developed that habit not because she was nervous being outside in an unfamiliar city, as he'd originally assumed, but because she was aware of the stares that his odd appearance sometimes drew from passers-by, and if their curiosity or surprise ever bordered upon hostility. It was a protective gesture - Wanda was ready to defend him if necessary. Though a couple of people veered away from them in passing, and there were one or two mutters of 'whoa' or other startled exclamations, nobody caused any trouble.    
  
 Wanda's guard relaxed once they reached the park and they set out along the winding, shady paths. The sunny, mild temperature of the day had brought out a higher concentration of people than usual - joggers, bikers, dog walkers, people playing ball or frisbee in the open areas, and people lounging on the grass with picnics or books or laptops. Though Wanda and Vision still attracted bemused or suspicious looks, the people in the park were largely occupied with their own activities.  
  
"We should do this more often." There was a spring in Wanda's step that hadn't been there before, and her cheeks had a healthy glow, Vision noted. "I think sometimes we get so caught up in training, it's easy to overlook getting outside and having some downtime. Doing normal things."  
  
"It is very agreeable." Vision noted, pausing while Wanda folded her coat and tucked it inside her backpack, letting the sunshine pour over her arms and humming softly at the sensation. New York did have lovely weather, she did have to give it that.  
  
"Why is it that people feel the need to comment on the weather? Is it part of the greeting ritual?" Vision asked her, overhearing an exchange between a hotdog vendor and his customer.  
  
"It's part of the small talk ritual." She replied, kicking an errant soccer ball back to a group of kids, who waved their thanks. "It's a neutral topic, that's why people who serve you in shops often mention the weather."  
  
"Ah, I understand. As opposed to such controversial topics as religion, politics... Avengers."  
  
She laughed at the last one, and he grinned at the sound, feeling a sense of accomplishment steal through him. "Yes, like that." She agreed, shaking her head. "At least the news reports have died down now."  
  
"Do they bother you unduly?"  
  
"They remind me. I've gotten to a point where... I can function, you know? I'm trying to concentrate on the future, and I don't want people who didn't even know Pietro shoving him in my face all the time." Wanda huffed out an annoyed breath, followed by a speak of surprise when a heavy gesture to emphasize her words created a scarlet hex bolt that flew into the nearby pond. A few ducks scattered, quacking indignantly. Luckily, nobody else was close enough to figure out what had happened.  
  
Vision didn't say anything, but his elbow brushed her arm in a light bump that could have been accidental, except Wanda knew that Vision didn't make any accidental motions.            
  
They progressed deeper into the park until a large, golden-coated dog dashed up to them. Wanda noted the wagging tail, loose, relaxed body language and happy canine grin and immediately dropped to her knees, holding out a hand. The dog bounded over to her, sniffed the offered hand, licked her, then when into obvious ecstasy when Wanda began scratching behind his ears. "Hey there beautiful boy." She crooned, reaching for his collar and finding a name tag. "Chance, hi Chance."  
  
Vision knelt tentatively beside her and followed her example, holding out his hand. If the dog found anything odd about him, it didn't show - he wagged his tail even harder, approaching Vision and fearlessly sniffing his face, making him smile softly. He patted Chance's silky fur and felt a pleasant warmth steal through him at the dog's show of friendliness. Chance pressed closer to him, all but trying to sit in his lap, and when Vision continued to pat him he flopped over onto his side and curled his front paws in the air. The action alarmed Vision a little. "I didn't hurt him, did I?" He asked Wanda, a note of anxiousness in his voice.  
  
Wanda chuckled. "No, he wants you to rub his belly." She scratched her fingers against Chance's ribcage and laughed when a hindleg began to peddle.  
  
"Chance!" A short woman with dark curls bouncing around her face approached. She did a double-take when she saw the pair lavishing affection on her dog. but her face then split in a wide smile. "Hey, Wanda Maximoff and The Vision! You're Avengers! Wow, I knew Tony Stark lived in New York, but every time you see him he's either at some benefit or behind a police cordon, you never expect to just see you guys out taking a walk in the park, you know?" Chance ambled back to his owner and she clipped a lead to his collar. "So sorry about him, I hope he didn't bother you!" She waved at them and carried on with the golden dog trotting at her side.  
  
Vision stood and offered a hand to Wanda, who took it and let him help her up. She was never hesitant around him, he'd noticed, never shy about touching him or sitting beside him when the team gathered. Her eyes were shining, obviously in a good mood after the friendly response of the dog, his owner, or both. "It is nice to know that some people are open-minded."      
  
Vision nodded his agreement. "Yes, it would be a shame to incite riots in the street simply by setting foot outside." She burst into laughter, and he grinned a little at the sound.  
  
He enjoyed making Wanda laugh _immensely_.    
  
She also didn't let go of his hand until they stopped at a water fountain for Wanda to have a drink. Vision wondered if he should have suggested packing one of the baskets of food and drink several of the groups around them seemed to have supplied, and filed it away for a future suggestion. Just because he had no need for food, did not mean Wanda should go without simply for choosing to spend time with him. He tilted his head at the sound of a nearby bird's whistle, and took a few steps, scanning the branches around him with his flawless eyesight.   
  
When Wanda turned to look for Vision, she found he had strayed off the path and was standing under a nearby tree, chin lifted. A steady breeze had picked up and tiny leaves and white flowers misted down from the branches, Vision motionless in their midst. Wanda inhaled through her nose, entranced by his expression as he stood, palms outstretched as if he could catch the falling blossoms, each so tiny they were smaller than he pinky nail.  
  
She couldn't resist the temptation to take a peek at his thoughts. The joy she felt radiating off him in waves was so pure and innocent it nearly brought tears to her eyes. Experiencing something for the first time with all his keen senses and intelligence meant so much to him, and the way he was watching leaves spiral and dance around him was one of those times where the rest of the world faded into the background. She let him be for about thirty seconds, committing the moment to her memory. Whatever difficult times lay ahead of her, she would remember Vision standing under his tree and it would cheer her.  
  
The wind died and the leaves and blossoms settled, and Vision startled and looked around for her. "Wanda. I am sorry for my moment of distraction." He apologized, as he made his way back to her side. She reached up and brushed a leaf off his shoulder - then, unable to help herself, raised herself onto her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. He blinked rapidly three times in astonishment, then lifted his fingers to where her lips had brushed his skin.  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Vis." She assured him with affection, and she reached for his hand again, curling her small fingers between his larger ones. "Come on, we ought to head back."  
  
They took a quieter path through the trees, away from the main track, and Vision felt the comfortable silence drape over them. He felt as if they had stumbled upon a different world, full of birdsong and dappled light. With the warmth of Wanda's hand in his, he wasn't sure he wanted to return to reality at all.    
  
Until he spotted a flash of purple in a large elm above their heads. He stopped, tilting his head.  
  
"Vis What is it?  
  
"Wanda... there is a dragon in that tree."          
  
She smiled and lifted her head to find out what he was looking at. "Vision, there is no such-"  
  
_Holy shit, there IS a dragon in the tree_. He was spaniel-sized and purple in colour, with leathery wings folded neatly above his shoulders, an underbite that showed the pearl-gleam of small fangs, and fearless pale yellow eyes that blinked down at them.  
  
" _Um_..." Wanda had nothing.  
  
Vision decided the approached that worked with Chance might yield positive results for a second time. He smiled at the dragon and held out the hand Wanda wasn't clutching. Fearlessly, the dragon spread his wings and glided down to a nearby branch to peer more closely at the pair.  
  
Wanda was worried - fining a dragon in central park was a cut above her pay grade - but when she reached out to the dragon with her telepathy, she could be assured of two things - he was certainly a living, breathing animal, not some advanced hoax. Also, he was completely, utterly immune to her powers. Still, after a moment of observing his relaxed body posture as he sniffed Vision's fingertips, she decided he didn't _look_ dangerous.   
  
For a dragon.   
  
Still, just to be safe, she looked straight into the dragon's light yellow eyes, knowing somehow from the intelligence there and the carefully maintained mental barrier that he was perfectly capable of understanding her. Silently, she spoke.  
  
_He's made of vibranium and he's the most decent man in this city, so don't you even think of hurting him._  
  
The dragon blinked, then released two small puffs of steam from his mouth, which lolled open in a toothy grin as if Wanda's warning amused him.  
  
He stepped gracefully down onto Vision's arm, balancing easily as he crawled to his shoulder and wrapped his tail around his bicep. Vision looked as pleased as if he'd been handed a prize at a carnival. Letting go of Wanda's hand with a slight reluctance, he reached up and scratched the dragon between his small, backward-facing horns. "I feel like I should be calling Steve or videoing this and streaming it to Youtube like a normal person would." Wanda wondered if this moment could get any weirder.    
  
A moment later her question was answered when she heard the words "Lockheed, where are you?" being called in Russian. Turning her head, she replied in the same tongue - Sokovian was a dialect and she had no trouble making herself understood.  
  
A moment later a massive mountain of a man came striding through the trees, his broad features lit up in relief. Wanda almost blanched when he drew closer, despite the friendliness in his voice as he called out his thanks. He was taller than Vision by a head and the muscles on every inch of his frame made Thor look like a starved sailor in comparison. But she relaxed the moment she felt his thoughts. Despite the size of the man, there was a true core of gentleness to the giant.    
  
"Lockheed." The man sighed, and the Dragon puffed out a happy cloud of smoke, danced down Vision's arm and launched himself towards the giant, who caught him with the ease of practice. "You worried Kitty, flying off like that! You know better!" He chided the dragon - Lockheed - though he ruined the effect somewhat by gently hugging the dragon to his massive chest, with such obvious affection that Wanda hid a grin.  
  
"Thank you for finding him." The man switched to heavily accented English, giving both Wanda and Vision a broad smile. He was dark-haired, with vibrant blue eyes and alternating smile and worry lines around his eyes and mouth. If Vision's appearance surprised him, he must have been an excellent actor. "Please, excuse me while I inform my girlfriend, she has been most worried for his whereabouts." He pulled out a phone that Wanda considered it a miracle was not crushed in his enormous hand, and made a quick call.  
  
Before he could hang up, a slight figure came dashing through the trees, phone pressed to her ear. "Okay I can see you - hanging up now!" Wanda did a double-take. The young woman was quite literally running through the trees - phasing straight through trunks and branches until she reached them. A peek at Vision showed he was just as amazed, the gears around his eyes whirling around in rapid-fire sequence. Most interesting to Wanda, while the woman was phasing towards them she picked up nothing but a sort of mental static from her, but the moment she left the trees her mind flipped on as if a switch had been thrown, letting Wanda glimpse her relief and delight at finding her pet.     
  
"Lockheed!" She launched herself at the giant and dragon, hugging them both, before dropping to her feet, the dragon nestled lovingly against her neck. She looked to be about Wanda's age, with a slender gymnastic build and a wild tumble of chestnut-brown hair. "Don't you dare fly away like that again! Hey, I know you two. Piotr, don't you recognize them from TV? They're Avengers!"  
  
Piotr waved an apologetic hand. "I do not tend to pay attention to much television." Wanda grinned and made a remark in Russian about what constituted an appropriate level of television-watching by American standards, and he let out a great big boom of laughter. "Too true!" He agreed, then reached out to shake her hand, then Vision's. "I am Piotr Rasputin, and this is Katherine Pryde."  
  
"Call me Kitty." The woman reached out a hand as well, smiling warmly. "You're... Wanda and Vision, is that right?"  
  
"That is correct." Confirmed Vision, looked cautiously pleased by the turn of events. He glanced over Kitty with interest that was apparent to Wanda, though probably not to her or Piotr. Wanda took pity on him. "He's too polite to ask, so I'll do it for him - you can phase?"  
  
"You know what it's called!" Kitty rubbed Lockheed under his jaw, and the dragon let out a rumbling purr. "Most people just ask how I can walk through walls. Yep, it's my mutant power. Which I don't usually tell people about, but you guys are Avengers, so it's different, I figure the Professor won't mind too much."  
  
There was a friendly openness to Kitty that Wanda couldn't help but like. She seemed so comfortable in her own skin Wanda could really believe that she'd naturally developed her mutant powers, instead of Wanda's that had been forced through her veins. She wondered how long it would take her to reach the same level of comfort with her powers that Kitty had.  
  
"I can also phase." Vision ventured, clearly (to Wanda) rapt to find somebody who shared his powers. He demonstrated by putting a hand out to a nearby park bench and phasing through the backrest. Kitty beamed. "Hey, they didn't show that on TV! Oh- Wanda, I'm really sorry about your brother." Her cheery demeanor faded for a second, and though the mention of Pietro sent the familiar jolt of pain through Wanda, there was so much sincerity in the other woman's mind she knew she really meant it.  
  
Quietly, Vision reached for her hand again, and the solid comfort of his fingers around hers grounded her. "Thank you. So... it's probably rude of me to ask all of these questions, but - what's Lockheed's story? I was all ready to give Vision a lecture on watching too much Game of Thrones when he told me there was a dragon up in the tree."  
  
Piotr let out another of his incredibly deep laughs, and both Wanda and Vision couldn't help but smile at the sound. Kitty cuddled the dragon with outright affection. "Well, since your team has fought Loki and Chitaturi and has an actual Asgardian demigod on your side, it's probably safe to tell you Lockheed is an alien too. He saved my life once, didn't you boy?" She planted a kiss on the dragon's forehead, and he blinked, smug and catlike. "Yeah, and we've been together ever since. Doesn't mean he's not naughty sometimes, isn't that right Lockheed! I think he gets bored at the mansion sometimes."  
  
"You ought to drop by when you are next in Westchester." Offered Piotr, digging in his pocket and retrieving a card with a circular ''X' logo on it. "The Professor  would be delighted to meet you. He is a great man." Wanda glanced down at it and read the text in the circle.  
  
_Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters._  
  
             
"We ought to get back before we get into even more trouble. It was really nice meeting you two!" Kitty grinned at Wanda and Vision, and Piotr nodded goodbye affably, Kitty sliding her arm halfway around his waist as they set off. Lockheed looked over Kitty's shoulder and puffed a farewell cloud of smoke from his nostrils.  
  
"Well." Wanda turned to Vision, tucking the card into a pocket of her backpack. "Should we head home, too? I think we've just about encountered enough weirdness for one day."  
  
"I believe the saying to be 'famous last words?'" Vision suggested, making Wanda laugh.  
  
"I liked them though - Kitty and Piotr. And Lockheed."  
  
"They seemed very accepting. Not at all uncomfortable with me."  
  
"From what I could gather from what I saw in their minds, there are students with far more unusual appearances than yours at their school. I don't know much about mutants, do you? They're born with their powers, aren't they?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking, though most mutants do not know they are such until the onset of puberty when their powers develop, and they harness some measure of control. Of recent years they have kept largely out of the spotlight, but there was some media coverage after a mutant who could control metal attacked a summit meeting, and some sort of conspiracy around a military base at Alkali lake."  
  
"Conspiracy and attacks... sounds like they could be the Avengers best friends." Wanda commented dryly, then shook her head. "Anyway, we'll ask Steve about them when we get back." A mischievous smile touched her lips. "Maybe we should leave Lockheed out. He's sort of a 'see it to believe it' case." She laughed. Vision dipped his chin downwards in a subtle nod of agreement, amusement flickering in his eyes at the thought of Steve and the rest of the team coming face to face with Lockheed one day.   
  
They were quiet until the Avengers Tower was within eyesight, the shadow of the building falling over them. Wanda withdrew her jacket and pulled it around her shoulders.  
  
"Hey, Vis?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Thanks for suggesting this walk. I mean, it had a few more dragons and giant Russian guys than I was expecting to run into, but it was fun. You're great company."  
  
"How odd. I was just thinking the same about you." Vision told her with his usual innocent splash of honesty. Wanda chuckled. "Thanks, Vis. So, it's Steve's night to cook, which we pretty much know means beans on toast. Toast which will be b _urnt_. Let me stop at the Chinese takeout place on the corner before we go up, okay?"  
  
Vision thought to himself that Wanda could have suggested trekking to Los Angeles on foot and he'd still have readily agreed, so much had he enjoyed their time together. As he waited for her to place her order, he though that he would just have to ensure he made time to go on another walk with his favourite teammate.  
Soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Though of course they can't exist in Movieverse together, since we're all familiar with Fox owning the rights of X-Men and mutants in general, there are no such restrictions on my fanfic. There are elements of both comic and movieverse X-Men that appear here - the Collosus in my mind looks like Daniel Cudmore but definitely has his Russian accent. Whoever thought that NOT including it was a good idea anyway?! And he and Kitty are an established couple, which never really happened in the movies, only a hint at the end of DoFP. Oh, and we haven't seen Lockheed in the movies yet (sadly, because that tiny dragon ROCKS) although fun fact for you, he did appear in the Last Stand movie novelization briefly.


End file.
